Air heater



W. E. JONES AIR HEATER Dec. 17, 1935.

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 50, 1953 W INVENTOR.

J J I Q 9 Q N MLL/AM E'.-JONES ATT Dec. 17, 1935. w. E. JONES AIR HEATER Filed Oct. 50, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 v 9N QN 0 Q\ N 0 Q 9 66s if] l M \m a I 8%& 6 u. 909 mm H I E o v IQ mm NW MN N m, hm i N N v Q mm mm & Q Q W m Q\ .m M ow U 2 I J.

Dec. 17, 1935. w. E. JONES AIR HEATER Filed 001:. so, 1935 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. WILL/AM E JONES A ORNEYS.

w. E. JONES 2,024,452

Dec. 17, 1935.

' AIR HEATER Filed Oct. 30, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Q Q Q INVENTOR. -H WILL/AM E. JONES I F M .106

' A ORNEYS.

Patentecl Dec. 17, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to air heaters and same has particular reference to heaters designed primarily for use in connection with open fireplaces, and an object of the invention is to provide a heater of this character which shall be simple and inexpensive in construction, attractive in appearance, strong, durable and highly efficient in operation, and one which will be portable and so designed and constructed that it may be quickly and conveniently applied to any open fireplace of well known. form. v

I am particularly concerned with those novel features of construction by means of which separate forms of heating agents or fuels may be employed and 'co-ordinated, or combined with each other so as to produce an abundance of heated air within a comparatively short period of time and at low operating cost.

An essential object of the invention resides in a heater organization by means of which a large percentage of heat, heretofore wasted by a discharge thereof in the chimney of the fireplace, will be distributed into the space to be heated, and among certain features which characterize my invention are'those which permit the heater 'to be employed according 'to conditions existing a result far superior to that heretofore'attained' with the prior well-known forms of air heaters.

V I have thus provided an efiicient organization of functional features which co-act to produce a heated condition of air in the shortest practicable period of time, and, incidentally, I have so designed and constructed the several parts of my heater that different forms of fuel may be used singly or together as the occasion permits or necessitates; and some types of dwelling places, open fire places-are primarily designed for ornamental purposes. It would not be harmful to. burn gas or electricity in such fireplaces, but it would not be advisable in many instances to resort to the burning of coal, logs, or firewood therein. My'

invention readily adapts itself to these conditions as they exist in the various types of fireplaces, and I have accordingly constructed and designed the invention so that any one ofthe individual For instance in apartment houses heating devices herein employed may be operated with the highest measure of efiiciency.

.Another important object is directed to those certain features which are productive of a heater organization which will harmonize with the fire- 5 place and mantel layout with which it is used, and which, when associated therewith, will allow the maximum amount of heat and light to enter the room from the grate of the fireplace.

, Another important object is to provide means 10 for effectively and positively shunting part of the flame and hot gases through the heater directly from the grate and discharging same by means of the heater flue to a point at least to the fireplace throat and in utilizing these gases to heat 15 the radiating surfaces of the heater.

I propose further to remove the heat from the radiating surface of the heater by the action of an air current which fiows by convection through the system employed, thence into the space to 20' be heated, whereby to-utilize the heat content of the combustion gases instead of allowing their direct escape to the chimney as was heretofore largely the case.

Another object of the invention is to provide 25 operatively co-ordinated heat distributors and circulators, and means for rendering one thereof wholly inoperative at the will of the user. This is highly important because it enables the user to positively confine all the draft to the heat source 30 being employed or to allow partial draft to both sources when it is desired to use both the grate fire and the gas fire simultaneously.

A still further object of the invention is to provide novel means for accelerating the move- 35 ment of the heated air through the system.

Another object is to provide means between the grate of the fireplace and the heat distributing unit of the system which is so constructed as to prevent loss of heat by radiation during the time 40 that the heat is being conducted into the system.

A still further object is to provide a heater wherein use is made of a conventional Bunsen type of burner whose port area is such as will be conducive of a maximum port velocity such as will be consistent with quietness of operation of 'th'e heater and which will allow for proper mixture of air and gas to insure proper combustion. Anotherlobject is to provide a heater'which will greatly increase the rate of radiation at the point of combustion of the gases and cause the gases'to find rapid ingress to the secondary distributorof the system but at a greatly reduced temperature. It is by reason of the novel manner employed for utilizing the combustion gases r and partly in elevation of theheater;

that large variations in gas consumption can be had and with little variation in heating efiiciency. A decidedly novel feature of construction of certain parts employed resides in the provision of an internal element or radiant of refractory material contained within a dome or radiant of heat resistant material, the two co-acting to provide an effective combustion chamber. I find that the rate of radiation from the external dome is so great that little variation in its area will cause more or less heat to pass into the secondary distributor or tubes of the system. Through variations in the size of the refractory element relative to the internal area of the aiorestated dome, large variations in temperature of the dome can be obtained. To make this possible, I construct the dome of-thin heat-resistant material such as ferrous alloy or the like, and the refractory element I preferably construct of fire clay or some suitable well-known material possessing a high degree of radiating property capable of withstanding high heat.

Additional novel features of my invention will hereinafter be more fully pointed out and definitely claimed.

In order that'my invention may be fully understood by thoseskilledin the art,'I will now proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings,-in which Figure 1 is a view partly in vertical section Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken on line 22 of Figure 1;

'Fig'ure'3 is a horizontal section takenon line 3"3 ofFigure 1;

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken on line 44 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a vertical section taken on line 5-5 of Figure 1;

"Figure 6 is a vertical section taken on line 66 of Figure 1.

In carrying the invention into practice, I have schematically illustrated an application of my invention to an open fireplace F of usual construction, and, therefore, of a design to readily adapt itself to my improved form of heater assembly or portable structure A.

At I8 is illustrated a substantially U-shaped grate bar, on the limb' or branch H of which is mounted a plate or ash shield E2, the said grate bar having supporting feet l3 for maintaining the said plate or shield in a flat horizontal position and spaced apart from the bottom wall of said fireplaceas shown in Figure 4 of the'drawings.

The portable heater assembly or structure A is so designed and constructed that same is adapted to occupy a position almost entirely at the front or exterior portion of the fireplace, and same, with other parts which I will fully describe presently, includes an ornamental column or air distributor by means of which warm air may be distributed into a room to be heated. These risers i4 and I5 are hexagonal in transverse section, as clearly illustrated'in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings, and they preferably constitute fixed parts of an intermediate connecting portion ll of the structure A whose length is such that it almost wholly extends from one side of the fireplace to the other side thereof, as properly shown in Figure 2. In said Figure 2, it will also be noted that the said risers l4 and 15 extend forwardly and laterally with respect to the open front of said fireplace, so as to occupy acute angular positions at the front of the fireplace and to overlap or extend over the vertical sides of the fireplace opening. The entire bottom of the structure just referred to is open and same is adapted to find operative support upon the fioor, as shown both in Figures 1 and 4. The riser I4 is provided with a horizontal partition I! so as to prevent said Warm air from escaping from the upper end of said riser. However, warm air is adapted to be contained in the riser at a point therein beneath the partition l'l andto be placed in motion and distributed to the riser l5 in a manner and for a purpose to be hereinafter referred to. Each of the said risers I4 and I5 is provided with exteriorly positioned ornamental air ducts i8 whose lower ends are open as at 19, to permit air to enter said 2 ducts from a point adjacent to the floor of a room and to enter the hollow assembly structure A by way of the air intake passages 20, the latter formed in the inner walls of said ducts at a suitable elevation above the floor line. The purpose of this construction is to provide for the operativeadmission of air to the system and a subsequent heating of this air and a distribution thereof to the room from the riser I5. Now it will be observed that each of the risers is provided at its upper end with an ornamental grill 2| but only the grill of the riser I5 is intended to function in co-action with other functional features of my invention; that is to say, the major part of the riser i4 serves primarily to contribute to a balanced or symmetrical outward appearance of the structure A.

Contained within the structure A and occupying a horizontal position therein is a heater unit, and same is largely characterized by parallel air conduits or internal radiating tubes 22-22. These tubes are, in turn, operatively mounted within a hot air drum or external radiator 23 into which hot combustion gases are adapted to be discharged and to be placed in continuous tive headers 2525, and tne latter are shown 0 as'joined at 25a to the respective ends of the intermediate section 26 of the drum 23. A stay bolt 21 functions to tie the aforementioned headers to said intermediate section of the drum in afmanner -to provide gas-tight connections between theheaders'and said intermediate drum section26 at the joints 25a.

In the lowerportion of the riser i5 is a combustion chamber assembly or unit 21a which consists of inner and outer radiants 28 and 29. The radiant 28 is in the form of a hollow dome and same is preferably constructed of chromium steelof very thin gauge, and same is adapted to be'placed directly over a flame so that hot combustion gases will ascend into said dome. The radiant 29 is also dome-shaped and same is of a size withrespect to that of the outer dome 28' to provide an intervening combustion space between the internal surfaces of said outer secondary air.

dome and the external surfaces of said internal dome. .The dome 29 is constructed of refractory material, and same is formed at one side with a passage 30 which opens both to the space between the respective domes and to the discharge chamber 3l in the refractory dome 29. At 32 is a. gas burner of the Bunsen type, the same including a horizontally disposed arcuate head 33 having jet orifices 34. This burner is positioned beneath the dome 23 and the arcuate construction of the head 33 serves to cause the jet orifices 33 to aline vertically with the aforetion at the opposite sides of the dome, so that same will enter the chamber 31 by way of the passage 30, whence said combustion gases leave the chamber 3| and discharge into the drum 23 at the base of the riser l5. To make this possible, the chamber 3| connects with said drum through a transfer duct or elbow 35, and co-operable with the latter is a control valve 36 whose purpose I shall explain presently.

In practice, I find that a burner assembly such as I have just described will consume about 20 cubic feet of gas (1,000 B. t. u. per cubic foot). per hour. The refractory dome 29 guides the hot gases to the very top of the outer dome 28 and at the same time radiates and reflects heat to the outer dome, thus greatly increasing the temperature of its surfaces. I find also that the actual surface temperature of said dome ranges from 800 F. to 1,500 F. The design of the combustion chamber and the co-acting burner bring about the other necessary requirements for high fiame temperature, viz., fast and complete combustion and complete control of am able to reduce the necessary amount of direct radiating surface for a given fuel consumption, and to reduce the oxidizing effect on the radiating surfaces due to the lower temperature of the gases after leaving the outer dome 28. The arrangement is productive of a highly eificient unit of minimumrproportions, the life of which should be appreciably long, and it. will not be subject to premature deterioration or make necessary any frequent replacement of the parts employed. j

A gas valve 31 connects with the Venturi tube 38 of the burner head 33. At- 39 is shown a horizontally swinging lever to whichthe operating rod 40 for the valve 36 is loosely connected at 4|, the said rod having jointed connection with the slidably mounted stem 42 of said valve. A sprocket gear 43 on the rotary stem 43 of the valve 35 meshes with a sliding rack bar 45, and as shown, said rack bar passes under the control lever 39 and the offset end 45 thereof is mounted in a guide 4?. The stem 44 can be manually turned by the handle 31a. At one side of the lever 39 and formed on said rack bar is a lug E8. The angular portion 49 of the rack bar is designed to .co-act with the guide 41 so as The construction issuch that I to limit the opening movement of said va1ve36. The rack bar is formed with a longitudinal series of sprocket openings 50 adapted to intermesh' with the teeth of said sprocket gear 43, and as shown in top plan in Figure 3, the actuating 5 end of said rack bar passes over the sprocket gear and the bar is sufficiently resilient to cause same to be under constant tension to insure proper intermeshing engagement of same with said sprocket gear. A gas supply tube 5! opera- 1o tively connects with the valve 3'! by means of which gas may be discharged into the Venturi tube 38 at the air orifice 52 of said burner 31. It is intended that when the valve 3'! is turned on the valve 35 will be opened, and when the 15 gas is turned'off, said valve 35 remains open so that combustion gases may be completely vented.

In Figure 3, the valve 31 has been fully opened. The lug 48 has engaged the free end of lever 39, and the valve 36 thereby moved to uncover the 20 discharge end of elbow 35. The portion 49 will have'engaged the stop 41. When the handle 31 is turned clockwise to cut off the gas supply to burner 33, valve 36 will remain open and can besubsequently closed by manually operating 5 the lever 39.

A fire tube 53 extends into the fireplace from the intake elbow 54, the'latter extending from the rear side of the intake header 25 at the right hand end of the aforesaid combustiongo drum. This tube is constructed of fire clay and same is encased within a metal sheath 55. The tube is of large internal diameter and same extends diagonally into the fireplace and same is formed with a large intake opening 56 which 35 occupies a position parallel with respect to the inner edge of the ash shield l2 of the grate 'bar It. The said inner edge of, the shield l2 projects sufiiciently to one side of a vertical line traversing the opening 56 to protect same from 40 H ashes falling from the grate. In the intake elbow 54 is a valve 5'! having a manually-controlled adjusting means whereby the valve may be opened or closed as desired. When said valve is opened, the hot gases from the grate of the fire- 5. I

place are free to enter the combustion drum 23. The outlet header 25 at the left hand end of the drum 23 is provided with a discharge duct 58 which opens into a suction inducing flue 59 which latter is extended in an upward direction 50 towards the throat of the fireplace, so that a constant suction will be set up in the combustion drum 23 to thus cause the combustion gases to be On the support-ing ledge 02 for the dome 28 is 65 an arcuate double-walled radiation shield 63, the same being concentrically related to said heater and slightly spaced apart therefrom. It extends vertically a considerable distance above the heater, as shown in Figure l of the drawings. The grill 2| of the warm air distributor or riser I5 is formedrwith vertically disposed warm air discharge passages 5d, the center one of which-is co-axially related to said dome 28.

It is due to. the last described relationship of lining for. the riser l5, and; between: said mesh material and the inner walls of..the;riser. is..a:.

This con-.-

packing 66 of insulating; material; struction. functions to. dissipate the heatto an; upwardly moving air stream within said-riser;

1 Extendingin a horizontal direction... over the:

top of the. assembly Ais. a; top enclosure. panel.

61 between the spaced apart parallel wallsof. whichis a packing of heat .insulating'material 68. This :panel connects with the drum 231by means. Extending downwardly l5 of .suitable brackets. 69.

from. the rear side of said panelisa wall. whichterminates at the base of. the..assembly A.. In. this. manner, warm air is permitted-i-to flow through the space ll which embraces the.

20. drum.23, and as. illustrated in Figure. 1 of the drawings, said space H constitutes alane'of .com-.

munication between the lower part .of. they riser l4 and the lower part of the warmair distributing riser l5.

A wire screen 12 rises. from the panel Bland.

the side edges of said screen are slidably. received inthe vertical guides '13 on the respective risers: l4zand l5.. By reason of this construction, amaximum amount of .heat and light:may read-.

30. ily enter the-room from the grate of the fireplace...

40 material extent the function. andv operation.

thereof, and I shall, therefore, refer. only briefly to a.more or less general description of the more essential operations which I. desire. to stress;

5 The heat. generated by the various radiating surfaces of the structure is removed bya con-.- tinuous; air; current which flows. by convection. through the right hand riser l5. When the .gas.

burner 33 is exclusively operating,..it is intended 50. that the heater unit 21 be entirely out off; from the fire tube. 53 so as to prevent loss of. draft at theburner and an. undesirable. influx of cold.

air tov the combustion drum 23. Because of the.

position of the burner unit 2.! in the riser l5; it 1 55 manifestly:follows that they highest. temperature,"

will bev produced at the point of outlet of the Warm. air at the very top of the said riser.-

Iiwish to particularly stress the novelty existing in the general make up of the heater unit 21 whichessentially consists of the co-acting radiants 28 and 29, the former of which I have elsewhere referred to herein as the internal radiant and-the latter as the external radiant. By means of this internal radiant, largeva-riations in gas consumptioncan be hadwith little variation in heater efliciency. The rate of radiation from thisexternal radiant is so great that slight variation in its area will cause more or less heat to flow to the secondary radiating tubes 22-22. The internal radiant functions in an important manner in .co-action with the external radiant and by variations in its size relative to the external radiant and the nature of. its surface, large-variations in temperature of the external radiant...are. effectively obtained. I: prefer to--- construct the external radiant. of thehighest. heat resistant alloysof thinnest practicablesgauge, I specifically refer to.the use of ferrous; alloy, but, of course; do notwish: tobe'limited. in..this

respect; The secondary radiant. can bemadeiof 5 clay of highrrefractory and radiatingqualities capable of withstanding very high heat; Its use, in. general, has the following advantages: First, it confines thev high temperatures toe-comparatively small area; secondly, the secondary radiatingsurfaces arenot subject toexcessive temperatures and. may, therefore, be constructedrof, lighter materialsthan-heretoforepossible; thirdly; the secondary radiating, surfaces may be reduced.

from 25% to- 50% in area, according to theteme 15,.

perature' employed'and the area-of the external radiantof. this. heater unit; fourthly, it reduces the oxidizing effect. on the radiating surfaces because of the lower: temperature. of the gases afterleavingthespace between the two radiants; 2o

flfthly, it makes possible the construction of a heater unit which may be used over: longer periods of time than heretofore.

The screen 12 extends a considerable distance in front of the fireplace, and, the upper edge 25..

thereof is at a lower elevationthan the. wall .W of the fireplace. In. consequence, amaximum amount of radiant heat. and: light may; freely enterthe. room when fuel is being. burnedin the grate. It is ordinarily intended-that when it is. so desired to exclusively utilize the combustion gases and flame from, the. grate of the fireplace, the valve 36 be entirely closedso. as to destroy com.-. munication between-the heating unit Zland the fire tube 53. cannot betburned in the grate simultaneously with the burning; of gas at the burner 33; for it is an object of the invention that provision be. made. hereinfor so doingat the .option of the user. However; most desirable results can be. 4.0 obtained by. using the heat generating sources separately; n. It 1should;be,understood that when the grate fire isused, the valve 36xmay be adjusted so that when'the gas is fully turned on the valve 45 is -.opened just enough to. permit the proper draft at the point of combustion.

A'mong incidental features of novelty, the invention provides (1) an economical method for utilizing combustion gases and all available heat-5o with marked efliciency and effectiveness; (2)

an organization of. parts-designed to replace theusual vandirons and screen of the fireplace; (3) a structure of light weight which may be-easily' and quickly installed. or. removed as desired by 55.

the mere skill of the average person; (4) a structure whichappears as an ornament when installed...

What is claimed is:

1. A1heater comprising-the combination with 60.

a pair: of substantiallydome-shaped hollow radiants, one of which is contained withinthe other and. spaced apart. from the. walls thereof, and a burnerco-acting with said radiants. to deliver a flame into the space between .same from 65.

thebottom thereof, the inner radiant being open at its. bottom and provided with an opening at one side, of a drum opening into the hollow portion of the inner radiant and into which hot combustion gases are adaptedto be discharged 70.

diants, one-ofwhich is contained within the 75,

I dov not mean by this. that fuel 35.

other and spaced apart from the walls thereof, and a burner co-acting with said radiants to deliver a flame into the space between same from the bottom thereof, the inner radiant being open at its bottom and provided with an opening at one side, of a drum opening into the hollow portion of the inner radiant and into which hot combustion gases are adapted to be discharged therefrom, a hot air conduit open at both ends and passing through the drum, and a vertical hot air riser in which the aforementioned domes are contained and into which said one end of the hot air conduit opens.

3. A portable heater for open fireplacesvcomprising a pair of vertical risers and a hollow portion connecting one of said risers with the other, a hot airconduit leading through the connecting portion and having its ends opening into the respective risers at the lower ends thereof, a drum contained in the connecting portion and through which the conduit passes, a burner at the lower end of one of the risers, a hollow radiant co-operable with'the burner and opening into said drum for the discharge of hot combustion gases thereto, and means at the lower end of the other riser for forcing air through said hot air conduit into the lower end of the first said riser, the first said riser having a hot air outlet, and'draft flue extending from 5 the drum and adapted to be extended into a fireplace, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. A portable heater for open fireplaces comprising a pair of vertical risers and a hollow portion affording communication between the 10 risers; a hot air conduit extending through said hollow portion and having its ends opening into the lower ends of the respective risers; a drum surrounding the conduit; a burner at the lower end of one of the risers for passing hot com- 15 bustion gases through the drum; and means at the lower end of the other riser for forcing air through said conduit and into the lower end of the first named riser; said first named riser having a hot air outlet; and a draft flue extend- 20 ing from the drum and adapted to be disposed in a fireplace WILLIAM E. JONES. 

